If you’re looking for flagship device specs in a “Mini” device, then 2013 hasn’t been your year. While the in thing seems to be a triple-size approach (small, standard and large; One Mini, One and One Max if you’re HTC; Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 if you’re Samsung), the main theme for 4.3 inch devices seems to be compromise. When compared to their big brothers, there’s always a compromise, be it screen, storage, CPU or camera. Unless, it seems, you’re Sony.
As Sony’s Xperia Z1 nears its Australian release (there’s one on my desk at the moment), we’ve seen murmurs from Japan today that Sony is also readying a “Mini” device, which seems to have become known as the Xperia Z1 F. Along with the above picture, a brochure purportedly showing specifications of the new device has also surfaced:
The great thing about the Z1 F? The only compromise at this stage seems to be the screen – a 720p display in lieu of the Z1’s 1080p – and the battery – an understandably smaller 2300 mAh unit. Everything else – including the Z1’s 20 MP rear camera, 2.2 Ghz Snapdragon CPU and its water- and dust-poof nature – appears to have made the transition to the smaller device intact.
The Z1 F looks like it’ll be a formidable opponent when it comes time to decide on your next device. I’m excited about this new device, having used the Z1 for a little while, but I’m tempering my enthusiasm with the knowledge that it may never come to our shores. We’re currently only seeing discussion of the device around Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo.
We’ve reached out to Sony’s Australian PR to see if they can share any information about this new addition to the Z1 family.
What’s your opinion on “Mini” phones? Are you interested in the Z1 F? Let us know in the comments!
